"I've waited all of my career to play an SEC team," Renner says. "I'm going to enjoy it."

Here's another thing about Renner and his North Carolina teammates: they have something to play for again. After spending last season on NCAA probation, the Tar Heels are eligible for the postseason.

"It's going to set the course for our season," UNC defensive end Kareem Martin said. "There's more than just one win or loss riding on this game."

If that sounds familiar, it should. We heard the same thing from Clemson last year before it played SEC heavyweight LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. At some point, those in the ACC have to take a stand against Big Brother in the SEC.

What better way to do it than the first game of the season, against a legitimate national title contender and its star defensive end -- the same guy who challenged the very manhood of every quarterback he plays by stating, unapologetically, they're all afraid of him.

"They know when they look at the D-line, they see what's coming," Clowney said last month.

While Clowney was making noise with his mouth, Renner was making it with his arm at the Manning Passing Academy. It was there where the story of the offseason occurred -- only not what you think.

There were 40 college quarterbacks at the camp, including Teddy Bridgewater, AJ McCarron, Tajh Boyd, Aaron Murray and Marcus Mariota.

Yet there was Bryn Renner, the guy who last year threw for 3,356 yards and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28-to-7 in UNC's up-tempo offense, performing better than all of those star quarterbacks who earned all that praise while their teams were all chasing the one thing North Carolina couldn't.

"You're competing any time you're on the field -- in practice, in a game, at a (passing) academy," Renner said. "But it's definitely a different feeling now. There's something there to shoot for. It's a new day."

It has only taken three years to get here.

Three long years of coaching change, of hiring and firing, of NCAA investigation and probation, of just about every distraction imaginable. You don't really think a guy who has made an offseason living off one highlight where he wasn't blocked is going to suddenly derail Renner, do you?

The team toiled through a season with a new coach and where every single game meant absolutely nothing; where they were forced to find solace in each other and their own improvement, isn't really afraid of anything, thank you. Much less, one guy on one team.

Frankly, if the focus is on any one player next week in Columbia, S.C., it should be on Renner. If the focus should be on any one team, it should be North Carolina.

You know what you have in South Carolina; there aren't many mysteries: a physical, athletic team and a coach with a flair for the dramatic. Sort of like LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

That was the moment Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and quarterback Tajh Boyd were introduced to the elite of the college game. Why not UNC coach Larry Fedora -- one of the game's brightest offensive minds -- and Renner this time around?

"I don't mind that (Clowney) said that," Renner said. "All that matters is we have a chance to see how we stack up against a top-10 team."